Rangers manager Derek McInnes has had a touchline ban reduced to two matches, with a further two suspended, after successfully appealing against a punishment imposed over comments he made about a controversial Celtic penalty. The original sanction, a four-match ban with one game suspended, stemmed from remarks McInnes made in a TV interview while managing Hearts last season, when he criticised the award of a stoppage-time penalty to Celtic. The reduction means the 55-year-old will spend less time barred from the dugout, though the case has reignited debate over how far managers can go in publicly criticising refereeing decisions.

McInnes will watch Wednesday's match at Falkirk and Saturday's home game against Motherwell from the stands before returning to the touchline for the rescheduled visit of St Mirren to Ibrox on 9 September. The original ban followed his description of the penalty, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho in Celtic's 3-2 win over Motherwell on 13 May, as "disgusting", with Hearts going on to lose the title race to Celtic three days later. Rangers argued the comments were aimed at the decision itself rather than officials generally, while Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum had defended the original call, citing clear evidence of an unnatural handball.